P06 Barsac - Orthez

Sixth ride to the Algarve, from Barsac to Orthez: 146 km and 852 Hm, a flat and rolling ride through the Landes.

You ride out of the valley of the Garonne, after which you enter the flat and gently rolling Landes. The Landes is a sandy region with many forests and dunes. Towards the end of the ride, it becomes hilly, and you reach the highest point of the day (143 m) only after 140 km just before arriving in Orthez. You ride successively through the departments of Gironde, Landes, and Pyrénées Atlantiques.

Orthez is a municipality in the French department Pyrénées-Atlantiques (region Nouvelle-Aquitaine) and has about 10,000 inhabitants. The town is part of the arrondissement Pau. It is located along the river Gave. The history of Orthez began around the 11th century, in the Romanesque period. Orthez was formed by the merging of two municipalities on either side of the Gave. Between 1194 and 1464, Orthez was the capital of the viscounts of Béarn. The tower Moncade is a remnant of the viscount's castle. The fortified Pont-Vieux dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries. The city was taken by the Protestants and plundered in 1569. Although Orthez is quite a large place, it mainly relies on livestock farming and viticulture.